The great spring chicken raisin’ is over (thank heavens!)
By Gina Spadafori
May 10, 2009
A few months ago I got the feather-brained idea that it would be “fun” to raise a big batch of baby chicks: A handful to add to my flock, others for friends and the remainder to sell with some advice to people wanting the fresh eggs and lively entertainment of pet chickens.
Yesterday, the last of the extras went home. Neighbor Judy picked out hers a couple weeks ago, friend Pam took hers home last night and the remainder went out with ranch girl from pretty near the feedstore in the next county where I’d bought most of the of chicks as tiny babies.
Everyone seemed pretty happy. The chicks were feathered out, healthy and ready to move on. I kept three Americuanas, three New Hampshire reds, a black Astralorp and a brown-laced Wyandotte. Oh, and the one something-or-other who turned out to be a rooster, and who’ll have to be re-homed. (No roosters allowed here, per zoning.)
I’m not going to be raising day-old again chicks anytime soon, though. Our weather was unusual, with more rain later in the season and hot-hot days in between the storms. That meant I was always putting up or taking down shade cloths or rain cloths, adding heat or trying to increase ventilation, all to keep things on an even keel for chicks who can get sick and die pretty easily.
And some did.
A couple chicks died within days of being brought home, a couple were taken by predators known and unknown, and a handful got chilled when I didn’t get them covered quickly enough in the rain and they were drenched and chilled to the bone. (Einstein, the cute crowned chicken, was one of these. The only one with a name didn’t survive.)
The remaining new hens are penned within the main chicken area, to keep them safe from the larger birds for a few more weeks while everyone gets used to one another.
Raising the chicks was interesting, but more work and less fun than I imagined it would be. I think I’ll be sticking with grown laying hens for a while. And to that end, I have more than I need.
One nice thing (among many) about the adult hens I have is that they’re very good layers. And that has worked out very well for McKenzie, who needs to eat a lot more right now. She has been eating lots of their lovely fresh eggs, so many that I half-expect the puppies to cluck.
Image: Charlotte, one of my two favorite hens.
I do like Charlotte! A classy chick if there ever was one.
Sorry about Einstein.
I bet the eggs from your own chickens are the best that you have ever eaten. So fresh!
Comment by Colorado Transplant — May 10, 2009 @ 8:19 pm
I think living in a normally mild climate tempted you to go too minimalist on the housing, and created a lot of work and frustration (and mortality.) With the right shelter, it’s pretty easy to care for hatchlings
Between the basement and the barn, and three heat lamps, it’s not been very difficult to care for truly epic quantities of poultry this spring, to whit:
15 adult layers + one roo
21, now 16, ducklings, now 6 wks old
102 colored range broilers, now 3 wks old
4 cornish cross “control” broilers, all named Eric Cartman
14 purchased egg birds, 3-5 weeks old — golden comets, Delawares, and Ameraucanas
7 chicks hatched under the broody Orpington on Thursday
Guineas are gone. I objected to them assaulting my chickens all day.
Casualties have been light, with <2% mortality. I lost one guinea to an owl when I didn’t coop him at night — my fault. His mate became egg-bound and more or less exploded — she gave no indication of being ill before she dropped dead. (I traded the remaining guineas and some ducks for chicks.) One colored ranger died in a freak feed-trough accident.
I’ve got one Delaware chick that has been “wrong” since I got her (?), but seems happy enough and is eating and drinking and not being picked on, so I’m leaving her be. I suspect a neurological problem — her breeder may have helped her out of the shell. One ranger had a very bad case of ADR last week; I put him in a box with a heat pad, food, and molasses water, and after 36 hours he was perfectly fine. And Henery the rooster broke his leg; the fracture is now stable, but he doesn’t want to walk on it. I’m experimenting with some corrective splinting.
This sounds like a lot going on, but it’s really not so bad. I’m busy building the range shelters for use starting next week, but that’s a one-time project. I’m just leaving the potato-bin brooders in the basement, for future brooding and as handy sick bays. The most troublesome to care for have been the ducks, who are extremely stupid, excessively dirty and stinky, and are housed down by the pond now.
It really all came down to having weatherproof housing for everyone during the fluffy stage. And now that my set up is in place, it will only get more streamlined.
Comment by H. Houlahan — May 10, 2009 @ 8:52 pm
think living in a normally mild climate tempted you to go too minimalist on the housing, and created a lot of work and frustration (and mortality.)
Comment by H. Houlahan — May 10, 2009
You are absolutely right. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 11, 2009 @ 5:13 am
Is the rooster’s name Cocovan?
I so wish we could have chickens in town here. I’d love to have fresh eggs. Any “farm” animal is a violation of our city ordinance. Weird that I can keep ducks in the back yard but not chickens because ducks are not “farm” animals. Politicians…go figure
Comment by Verde — May 12, 2009 @ 11:13 am
RIP Einstein. I’m not going to suggest names anymore, I’m apparently bad luck. :O(
Comment by Original Lori — May 12, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
There is nothing quite as tasty as eggs from back yard chickens! Two of my close friends have backyard hens and share their eggs. A carton of eggs may have large dark brown eggs, white eggs, speckled eggs, green eggs, and even teensy tiny little eggs. It’s great fun and they taste so much better than store bought eggs.
I like to thin the eggs are healthier, too, as the chickens get to roam around, scratch for bugs, and get fresh food and left overs from the kitchen.
I also get fresh eggs from back yard geese that I love to use for baking and scrambled eggs. For trivia, one goose egg equals three chicken eggs, roughly, depending upon the size of each of course.
Comment by Liz Palika — May 12, 2009 @ 3:15 pm
First of all - Einstein is such a great name for a chicken!!
Anyway, keeping chickens can get out of hand, but they are also great pets for the kids and we only keep them for eggs (no slaughter as the kids would go crazy) and it’s well worth it.
Comment by Deon — May 13, 2009 @ 1:24 am